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Banquet Speech

Francis Crick and Maurice Wilkins have asked me to reply for all
three of us. But as it is difficult to convey the personal
feeling of others, I must speak for myself. This evening is
certainly the second most wonderful moment in my life. The first
was our discovery of the structure of DNA. At that time we knew
that a new world had been opened and that an old world which
seemed rather mystical was gone. Our discovery was done using the
methods of physics and chemistry to understand biology. I am a
biologist while my friends Maurice and Francis are physicists. I
am very much the junior one and my contribution to this work
could have only happened with the help of Maurice and Francis. At
that time some biologists were not very sympathetic with us
because we wanted to solve a biological truth by physical means.
But fortunately some physicists thought that through using the
techniques of physics and chemistry a real contribution to
biology could be made. The wisdom of these men in encouraging us
was tremendously important in our success. Professor Bragg, our director at
the Cavendish and Professor Niels Bohr often
expressed their belief that physics would be a help in biology.
The fact that these great men believed in this approach made it
much easier for us to go forward. The last thing I would like to
say is that good science as a way of life is sometimes difficult.
It often is hard to have confidence that you really know where
the future lies. We must thus believe strongly in our ideas,
often to point where they may seem tiresome and bothersome and
even arrogant to our colleagues. I knew many people, at least
when I was young, who thought I was quite unbearable. Some also
thought Maurice was very strange, and others, including myself,
thought that Francis was at times difficult. Fortunately we were
working among wise and tolerant people who understood the spirit
of scientific discovery and the conditions necessary for its
generation. I feel that it is very important, especially for us
so singularly honored, to remember that science does not stand by
itself, but is the creation of very human people. We must
continue to work in the humane spirit in which we were fortunate
to grow up. If so, we shall help insure that our science
continues and that our civilization will prevail. Thank you very
much for this very deep honor.